An art group is being taken to court for blasphemy over a painting which shows a Polish priest breastfeeding the late Pope John Paul II.

The painting by the group The Krasnals - The Dwarves - is entitled 'Battle of Grunwald / The Ship of Fools' and shows contemporary Polish figures depicted as cartoons 'in an international context'.

The image includes the controversial head of right-wing Catholic radio station Radio Marja portrayed as a pig and breastfeeding the late Pope.

Art group The Krasnals are being taken to court accused of blasphemy for its painting 'Battle of Grunwald / The Ship of Fools' which features the head of right-wing Catholic radio station Radio Marja portrayed as a pig and breastfeeding the late Pope John Paul II (bottom left corner)

'This is outrageous and goes against all the norms of decency,' said Ryszard Nowak from The All-Poland Committee Against Sects And Violence.

Nowak, who famously took a Polish pop singer to court for blasphemy, added: 'It offends the religious feelings of millions of people and is insulting to both Father Rydzyk and the late Pope.

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'I fail to see how it is art. It is degrading and it has the word art attached to it to give it some credence and credibility that it does not deserve.'

The art group has defended the image as 'little more than cartoons with a sense of humour in the genre of South Park'

A spokesman for the Krasnals said: 'We
regret that the level of artistic education is so low in organisations
such as "The All-Poland Committee Against Sects And Violence," which
should be the preserve of intelligence in our country. Such people
should know better than to confuse reality with science fiction.

'The fact is that "The Battle of Grunwald/Ship of Fools" is no more than an artistic work of fiction. The picture is a light and accessible creation, portraying the events and characters of contemporary Polish history, in an international context.

'They are little more than cartoons with a sense of humour in the genre of "South Park". The concept of "Polish Civil War" should be taken with a pinch of salt.

'Its message is exclusively positive, without any intention of causing offence. It seems it is our Polish heritage that makes us want to see the devil and evil in everything.'